By Kim Jae-kyoung
Staff Reporter

Koreans are becoming increasingly worried about how the deepening economic downturn will affect them, according to a survey by a global research company.

In the recent survey of 24,000 people from 24 countries on the current economic situation, the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan ``think tank'' in Washington, D.C., found that no people were more negative about their national economy than people here.

Some 92 percent of Koreans surveyed answered that the current situation is ``bad,'' followed by Lebanese (90 percent) and Japanese (85 percent), indicating that they are the most dissatisfied with their economic situation.

In contrast, the survey showed that one-quarter of the countries surveyed view their country's economy positively. Many of the public live in countries that have been experiencing strong economic growth. For example, in China, which has enjoyed high rates of growth in recent years, 82 percent said their national economic situation was ``good.''

In addition, 81 percent of Koreans surveyed were dissatisfied with the direction the country was going, just behind Lebanese (92 percent) and Argentineans (83 percent), according to the survey. The majorities in 18 of the 24 countries were dissatisfied with the way things were going in their country.

Market analysts said that Koreans' pessimism on their economic situation and direction was mainly due to the growing pressure of globalization, as well as the recent public backlash against U.S. beef imports.

``I think Korea is a front-line state facing the pressures of globalization. The Korea sandwich, where the economy is squeezed between China and Japan, creates uncertainty about economic prospects that is very stressful,'' ING Financial Markets chief economist Tim Condon told The Korea Times.

``The country's success in meeting the challenges of globalization does not guarantee that it will continue to enjoy similar success. Recent political noise adds to the uncertainty and stress,'' he added.

However, the survey showed that Koreans remain quite optimistic about the future course of the economy.

A total of 33 percent of the Korean respondents said that the economy will get better over the next 12 months, outweighing the 23 percent answering that economic conditions will deteriorate.

The remaining forecast economic conditions would remain unchanged in the near future.

kjk@koreatimes.co.kr